Welcome back (again) dc!Can you describe your practice routine a bit more? Your warm-up routine, how you approach your goals for the practice session, how you decide what to work on that day...all of that. Do you tend to play through pieces over and over?QuoteThanks...I always come back...I have been here more than 10 years. Can't stay away from an opportunity to chat about the piano... I even miss the trolls. Lol
Thanks...I always come back...I have been here more than 10 years. Can't stay away from an opportunity to chat about the piano... I even miss the trolls. Lol
. I went a whole day w/out practicing. I came back and sat down and lo and behold - somehow - either my brain or my fingers (or both) knew that I would not be hitting any wrong notes
Hi Everyone,This is my first post. I tried to find an answer to this question online before posting, but, alas, I could not. Apologies if this is an old or inappropriate topic. If so, just tell me: I'm new and won't do it again.At any rate, I have been away from the piano for 20 years. I played as a child and through college, but slacked at the end (I was in college!) and never really did practice properly. This time around, however, I am committed to practicing better. That is, learning a new piece VERY slowly, not speeding up until the notes are learned correctly, etc., and not playing at proper tempo until, again, I know the notes. Now that we have the internet, (20 years later! YAY!) I've also been studying the music and listening to each piece online.But, after about a month of two hour a day practice -- as mindful and deliberate as possible -- I find that I am making NO progress. Every time I dare try to play at proper tempo, I still miss notes. I still make dumb mistakes. Sometimes my fingers, although they should "know" better, go haywire and transition to a completely different key than the one I am in! In sum, I am making NO progress. Does this mean I should give up? Will it ever come? Is there something I need to do to be less, well, stinky?I have my first lesson in 20 years scheduled in two weeks with a local piano professor (former international concert pianist who now gives adult lessons). I am hoping that she can tell me what's wrong!Yet if any of you are adult learners/returners, I would be grateful to hear your thoughts on "making progress" along these lines.Thank you,A
If people stopped learning pieces too difficult and stuck with pieces they can efficiently learn and build from there it all will be a lot easier. I reckon way too many try to improve by constantly learning pieces too difficult and work on them until they become easy. Sure you can learn this way but in my experience as a teacher it is a much slower method. It is a bit of a loaded answer though saying learn pieces you can efficiently complete, you'll be surprised that many people don't even know how long it takes to learn a piece or whether they are absorbing the piece efficiently or not.